1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly to a system and method for calculating a bandwidth of the mobile terminal for a streaming service.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, multimedia data is a significant part of Internet traffic and applications. That is, multimedia services such as Internet telephony, video conferencing, and video-on-demand (VOD) service are becoming more popular and thus are becoming a bigger part of the overall Internet Traffic. In addition, because multimedia data files are typically large in size (i.e., have a large capacity), the multimedia files are streamed from a server/network to a user, rather than having the entire file downloaded to the user/terminal and then playing the file. In the streaming service, the data is streamed and processed by the user's terminal as it arrives. Thus, the entire file does not have to be first downloaded. Video on Demand (VOD) and Audio on Demand (AOD) are examples of streaming services.
In addition, a variety of protocols are used in the streaming service such as the RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) and the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). A combination of the RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) and the UDB (User Datagram Protocol) may also be used. In addition, the packet data protocol (PDP) based upon the 3rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) specification is also used to perform a bandwidth negotiation process between the mobile terminal and the corresponding network for transmission of actual data packets.
For example, FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a general procedure for allocating a bandwidth between the mobile terminal and the network. As shown, the mobile terminal first calculates a maximum bit rate (MBR) required by the mobile terminal and a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) (step S110), and then creates a PDP context based upon the calculated results (step S120). The mobile terminal then transmits the PDP context to the network to thereby request a particular QoS (Quality of Service) (step S130). The network then provides the mobile terminal with the requested (QOS without any change (S104). Alternatively, the network may allocate a maximum QoS value, namely, a particular bandwidth that can be supported during the corresponding time period.
Thus, because the network accepts the bandwidth request as it is or allocates the maximum available QoS value according to the situation or conditions of a corresponding time period, the same QoS cannot be guaranteed to all users, even though all the users pay the same cost for the service (e.g., fees or charges for air time, downloading, receiving multimedia data services, etc.). Thus, certain users will get a lower QoS, which is unfair to those particular users. Further, the management of radio resources is not effective.